SUPERVOLCANO and The Mis-information Superhighway

Posted on April 12, 2014April 12, 2014 by Dusty Roads

You saw it on YouTube, then Turner Networks and even the local newspapers. Bison are fleeing Yellowstone National Park. Earthquakes are “unzipping” the super volcano caldera!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMSPrHXvyws

Is a mega disaster imminent?

Not likely says Park Spokesman Dan Hottle. The bison are actually running toward the interior of Yellowstone right toward the ancient 55 X 18 mile magma chamber, the location of the past super volcano explosions.

The Video originally posted on March 20 and sparked stories as far away as Australia. Mainstream news outlets picked up the story and the video went viral. By now more than 700,000 people (make that 700,001) have viewed the alleged bison exodus.

When news of Sunday’s 4.8 magnitude earthquake hit the airwaves, Turner Radio Network broadcast ” It appears the super volcano is unzipping !” The earthquake, which was the largest in 34 years, was actually centered north of the caldera boundary. It was generated by a system of fault lines, not magma.

Yellowstone has thousands of tremors every year. How could it not with geysers exploding and mud flats bubbling. There have been more than 250 tremors in just the past month. It is business as usual for the geothermal area.

But just in case the bison are trying to commit a mass suicide Spokesperson Hottle says he’s ready. “I’ve got my tent packed and a couple of bags of microwave popcorn. I’ll be ready!”

Just goes to show you can’t believe everything you see on the internet.

Oh one last comment for our Russian friends…Old Faithful will not burn down. 🙂

( Last year there was a 2 tree fire 8 miles south of Old Faithful. A Russian television station called asking if Old Faithful was going to burn down. )

All is Not Calm

Posted on April 11, 2014April 11, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Ahhh Springtime at the Pond. Not so peaceful really. The mating rituals seem to lead to a lot of grumpy behavior or maybe it’s the cold, rainy spring after the long winter.

Bring on the grumpiness!

The Canada Geese are especially temperamental.

They always seem to be rather grumpy anyway but this time of year the grumpiness goes up dramatically.

They don’t seem to get along whether on land or water.

Finally a Moment with Nature

Posted on April 10, 2014April 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Spring has been a long time coming this year. If it wasn’t snowing it was raining but finally on Monday, we had a brief respite.

As usual lately my days off are filled with errands. When did that happen? I needed to run to the grocery store, down to Walmat (which is the opposite side of town) and then in another direction to the pet store for filters for the pet fountain but I was determined to get some time with the camera. No cat picture today!

The sun was hiding behind a gray, overcast sky. Rain was predicted for the evening. My first stop was at Oliver Mills. It was crowded today. The herring have started running. You could stand by the fish ladder and see the little fish trying to make their way upstream. A few gulls braved the influx of humans but no Great Blue Herons. I watched from the car for a bit so when the gulls took flight, so did I.

I drove to Plymouth to check on a Osprey nest I found at the end of the season last year. When I got there I discovered that I couldn’t find my binoculars. The last time I had them (that I remember) was in Alaska. This nest is near a park and it was full today too so I didn’t linger there.

Getting to the Grist Mill Pond was a challenge. The main road was blocked for a funeral so I tackled the shore road down past the Mayflower.

That’s undergoing road work but passable. I skipped Brewster Gardens. Nothing appeared to be out and about, not even a duck or robin. But that wasn’t the case at the pond.

Here spring was in full swing with lots of courtship rituals going on…mallards, Canada geese, and Mr. Majestic, the mute swan.

After enjoying the antics here I made one more stop. I went searching for the “haul out” that I’d heard about for the seals. Usually I go to Chatham to view seals. Plymouth is closer but the seals aren’t necessarily any more accessible. I wasn’t sure I’d found them. Without binoculars I simple took pictures and crossed my fingers.

Once home I uploaded the images and sure enough…they were there. Next time I’m taking the BIG lens.

Photo of The Week – 14

Posted on April 9, 2014April 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The visits to dustyroadsphotos.com seemed to fall off this week.

The winning photo only got a total of 23 combined points. Comments were definitely off as none were left at all! Now I know everyone has an opinion. Comments are fun. 🙂 And they count toward your favorite photo. Maybe my photos weren’t “up to snuff” this week or maybe my tags weren’t descriptive enough, or maybe everyone got spring fever and ran outside to take their own pictures. Whatever the case, I hope you’ll help pick the winner this week by giving us a visit.

The week 14 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is It Fits with a total of 23 points.

Votes calculated from activity at www.dustyroadsphotos.com.

To Order Prints Click Here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h368ec8ea#h368ec8ea

Cat Prodigy

Posted on April 7, 2014April 7, 2014 by Dusty Roads

I live with a cat prodigy. It’s not easy. In the beginning it meant baby safe locks on all the cabinets unless I wanted to come home to find him sleeping on the dinner plates.

Then he learned to open the tri-fold closet doors. I couldn’t find a lock for those so a stool blocks the doors from opening now.

I come home to the TV flickering away when I know I turned it off before I went out and the ceiling fan…well, lets just say he even knows how to adjust the speed. I watched him with the remote just last night. After he got the fan up to medium he went back , nosed it around and with a very deliberate paw, pressed the button for the lights, switched his tail and walked away.

He’s been typing for years. It’s how he earned the title of “Editor -in- chief”.

Editor in Chief

Today he discovered a new trick. He took a selfie with my cell phone. I watched him do it!

Usually he hates my phone. He’s always trying to chew on it but this time he moved it around with his paw and managed to unlock the screen. Next thing I knew the flash went off. After that he lost interest.

I checked the camera function and there it was… his very own “selfie”.